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Although words such as “remote learning” and “distance learning” have been an undeniable part of the national conversation the last couple of years, the heart of every classroom is still the connection between a teacher and their students. With the right tools and resources, that connection can remain infinitely stronger than the wifi networks powering your virtual classroom.

When you’re in a pinch and need remote learning tools to support student learning, we’ve got your back. Over 400 teachers from the DonorsChoose community shared their feedback and tips for the most popular programs enabling their students to learn from home. Here’s what teachers across the country had to say:

Teachers Review BrainPOP

What is it? “BrainPop is a virtual library designed to assist teachers in exposing students to content in all subject areas: science, social studies, mathematics, health, and so much more. BrainPop provides teachers with quizzes and additional activities that engage students and are motivating. BrainPop is a mini movie theatre that your students will constantly ask to visit!” – Ms. Pearson, 1st Grade

Recommended for: Kindergarten - 8th Grade students, though high school teachers note it can be a great review tool and early education teachers recommend BrainPOP Jr.

What DonorsChoose teachers are saying: “I absolutely love using Brainpop as a way to introduce a topic or at the start of a unit. The students get excited when they hear the “Beep Beep” sound that Moby makes when I start a video. The program also comes with many extras such as a short quiz, worksheets, etc. I use it as a whole group tool most of the time, but in this time of distance learning, it also allows you to use BrainPOP as an assignment. ” – Mr. Starken, 9th grade

Read the full BrainPOP for remote learning review, then get a basic BrainPOP subscription through DonorsChoose vendor AKJ Education. Get started on a project today.

Teachers Review BreakoutEDU

What is it? “This tool is a platform to access standards based "escape rooms" for all grade levels and content areas - plus some just for team building and seasonal fun!  There are games that you can play with a kit - but there are also many digital versions.” – Mrs. Vedros, 8th and 11th Grade

Recommended for: Teachers recommend Breakout EDU for everyone! Breakout EDU includes content appropriate for all grade levels.

What DonorsChoose teachers are saying: “I highly recommend Breakout EDU! The students love the challenges and they're content and standard based. It is serving two or three purposes in one and the students are always engaged in it!” – Mrs. Dragoo, 6th Grade

Read the full Breakout EDU for remote learning review, then get a Breakout EDU subscription through DonorsChoose vendor AKJ Education. Get started on a project today.

Teachers Review Flocabulary

What is it? “Flocabulary is a platform that creates R&B/Hip-Hop songs that relate to tons of different concepts across all content areas. They are catchy and my students love to hear the songs that go along with each concept we learn.” Mr. French, 2nd and 3rd grade

Recommended for: Flocabulary has content available for all grade levels in a wide variety of subjects, but teachers mostly recommend it for grades two and up. From 3rd grade math to 10th grade English, teachers found creative ways to use Flocabulary in the classroom.

What DonorsChoose teachers are saying: “We were learning multiplication facts using the songs from Flocabulary. We were taking a facts quiz and my student was singing the song to remember the facts. He was so proud when he passed the test!” - Mrs. Knight, 5th grade math and science

Read the full Flocabulary teacher review, then get a Flocabulary subscription through DonorsChoose vendor AKJ Education. Get started on a project today.

Teachers Review Nearpod

What is it? “Nearpod is an interactive presentation tool that allows you to do it all in one place. You can teach using modeling, visuals, written information, 3D models, videos, and virtual trips. Then you have the opportunity to engage students with polls, quizzes, questions, and games. Everyone can participate, every time. You can make your own or choose from a full library of lessons. It's all in one spot.” – Miss DeLisa, 6th Grade

Recommended for: Teachers recommend Nearpod for all grades! For any lesson in which you would use a slideshow presentation, you can swap in Nearpod to get added engagement and real-time feedback.

What DonorsChoose teachers are saying: “Nearpod is a way to make presentations interactive. You can add games, matching, fill in the blank, quizzes, videos with questions, and more. It has taken my classes up a notch as the students are so much more engaged.” – Ms. Sloane, 7th-12th Grades

Read the full Nearpod for remote learning review, then get a Nearpod subscription through DonorsChoose vendor AKJ Education. Get started on a project today.

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You know what your students need. The DonorsChoose community is here to help you get it. 3 out of 4 schools in the U.S. have a public school teacher who’s used DonorsChoose - that’s over 1.8 million classroom project requests funded. Yours could be next. Start your project today.

Combating Educational Inequity Together 

At DonorsChoose, we are committed to combating racial and socioeconomic inequity in school funding. As part of our Equity Focus, we’re working with donors and partners to combat systemic racial and socioeconomic inequity, by bringing even more resources to Equity Focus Schools — schools where at least 50% of students are Black, Latino/a, Native American, Pacific Islander, or multiracial and at least 50% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, the standard measure for school economic need.

To help us more strategically support teachers and students in Equity Focus Schools, we launched the Equity Accelerator Initiative (EAI) — a cohort of 54 district partners committed to providing equitable student access to the learning materials made available through DonorsChoose.

The Equity Acceleration Initiative 

EAI District Partners receive all of the benefits of the Partnership Program, including a district landing page, early notice of funding campaigns, and marketing and communications resources — and more. To provide even greater visibility into classroom needs, and the distribution of resources across their district, EAI District Partners also receive DonorsChoose equity insights to help district leaders provide additional support to Equity Focus Schools.

Using data reports to inform district purchasing decisions

District leaders are informing purchasing decisions by identifying trends in the resources teachers in Equity Focus Schools' request on DonorsChoose, and implementing the most impactful solutions in other classrooms to create meaningful learning opportunities.

Examples:

• From 2017 - 2018, projects requesting flexible seating jumped 670% on DonorsChoose. The boom in requests that year was an early sign of a larger movement to transform classrooms into collaborative and inclusive spaces for learning in districts all across the country. 
• In the first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic, requests for social and emotional learning (SEL) resources tripled, with requests ranging from journals to yoga mats to teacher professional development. In August 2021, teachers posted 4x more requests for SEL resources than in a typical year, and those requests remain high. This consistent growth across our sites is indicative of educators’ interest in learning more ways to support their students' mental health and wellness needs.

Using data reports to foster a community of collaboration

Informed by their equity insights, leaders foster a community of collaboration in their districts by tapping teachers who've found success on DonorsChoose to lead professional development sessions for their peers. 

Example:

• If you spot certain schools in your district getting the most funding through DonorsChoose, you might tap their successful teachers to lead training with their peers across the district. Doing so provides an excellent professional development opportunity for the teacher leader. It also ensures that all teachers throughout EAI Districts know how to use DonorsChoose, fostering a culture of collaboration within the school community.  

In total, more than 750,000 of the students will benefit from this enhanced support through our Equity Acceleration Initiative. By partnering with DonorsChoose through this initiative, you'll have a national network of allies excited to help students in your community have the best learning experience possible.

Meet Our EAI Cohort Member Districts

See all of our EAI District Partners here, and learn more about how we partner with public school districts across the country.

"A Florida teacher is going to infinity and beyond for her students. Rhonda Ripperger, a STEM teacher at South Lake Elementary School in Titusville, Florida, gets kids excited for learning by teaching them about space. 'I just want them to realize that science is all around them,' Ripperger told 'Good Morning America.' 'Like everywhere they look in the real world, it's science. And so I just really want to instill that passion in them.'"

‍Read and watch the full story on goodmorningamerica.com.

"Internet fundraising pioneer DonorsChoose announced Tuesday that the head of another crowdfunding powerhouse will succeed its founding CEO, Charles Best, who announced in April that he would be stepping down.Alix Guerrier, CEO of GlobalGiving, which raises money for international relief projects with a focus on local charities, will take the reins of DonorsChoose in March. Best will remain on the board of DonorsChoose. The two organizations combined have raised nearly $2 billion from donors, and they share a lot of the same DNA. In particular, both take a far more hands-on approach than many of their crowdfunding peers in vetting the recipients of donors’ generosity." Read the full story on philanthropy.com.

One look at his resume, and you might assume Alix Guerrier has been preparing to be CEO of DonorsChoose for the last 20 years. First a teacher, then an education consultant, followed by several years as co-founder of the powerhouse curriculum platform LearnZillion, and most recently the CEO of nonprofit funding site GlobalGiving, Alix will step into his next role as CEO of DonorsChoose in spring of 2022. 

Alix and DonorsChoose founder Charles Best shared the news in a video message to the DonorsChoose community.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy also shared the news in this article (free account required), noting how DonorsChoose and GlobalGiving are leading the charge in making crowdfunding more equitable and transparent.

We look forward to introducing Alix to our teachers, donors, partners, and supporters towards the end of this school year, as he transitions into the role.

Want to send a friendly hello to Alix? Leave a comment on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts!

"Giving Tuesday — the 'global generosity movement' that encourages people to engage in some post-Black Friday charitable giving — has arrived, and Mashable's rounded up some of this year’s biggest giveback campaigns. Started in 2012, Giving Tuesday falls on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, well-past Black Friday deals, small business Saturday roundups, and Cyber Monday sales. Through collaborations with national businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations, the day will hopefully catalyze millions of dollars in charitable donations to organizations around the country and the world. The official Giving Tuesday campaign hosts donation opportunities in 80 countries, and last year’s contributions totaled $2.47 billion in just the first 24 hours, according to the organization."
‍Read the full story on mashable.com.

Since 2015, Infosys Foundation USA has teamed up with DonorsChoose to bring computer science (CS) and making into classrooms. Through their Pathfinders Institute, thousands of K–12 teachers across the US trained up their CS skills, from coding, to makerspaces, to robotics, and beyond. Now, Infosys Foundation USA is helping teachers get the hands-on resources, kits and materials they need to bring those lessons to life for their students.

Support a project

A few months into the new school year, a key goal for teachers has come into focus: helping kids fall in love with learning after nearly two years of change and uncertainty. Our friends at Infosys Foundation USA recognize how transformational it can be for teachers to bring a robot or coding kit into the classroom to spark engaging, and innovative learning.  If you have never seen the way a student lights up when they see a robot in their classroom, you’ll have to take a teacher’s word for it — it’s unmatched!

“When students are given the opportunity to create something interactive that they think is cool, their engagement levels increase, and they retain more information. Robotics in schools can help students turn their frustration into creativity and innovation.” —Mrs. Bates, a middle school teacher from Michigan

Starting November 29, you can team up with Infosys Foundation USA to help teachers get computer science resources into their classroom.

While funding lasts, Infosys Foundation USA will double any donation made to qualifying computer science and maker ed projects from K-12 teachers.

Give today

Are you a teacher looking to create a project? Check out this help center article for full details on how to qualify for this Giving Tuesday opportunity!

Somewhere between the snack calendar and the bell schedule, there’s an open space on your classroom wall that’s perfect for posting your DonorsChoose pride. We’ve got you covered.

Our classroom decor gift to you: this snazzy poster that will let every parent, friend, and colleague who walks through the door know that A DonorsChoose Teacher Lives Here. Just download, print, and post!

And in case one poster isn’t enough to adequately express your DonorsChoose devotion, here are three more tools to help you spread the word:

• A pack of “Getting Started on DonorsChoose” flyers for new teachers. Pass them out, hand them to new teachers, or put them in teacher mailboxes.

• A pack of DonorsChoose postcards for any teacher at your school. These are perfect to hand to your colleagues or leave out in the faculty lounge.

• A poster to track and celebrate teachers posting projects at your school. Hang this in a common area and update it throughout the year.

Happy sharing! Many of these resources and more can be found in the Teacher Toolkit.

We tend to think about the challenges of our nation’s education system in broad strokes. The need for billions of dollars in capital improvements, sweeping modernizations to curricula and technology, and fundamental policy changes.

These big-ticket reforms are critical, yet they can have the adverse outcome of making people feel a little less empowered to be change agents themselves. 

I still remember watching my mom write a $25 check to the United Negro College Fund every month. Our family’s means were modest, but she knew that each of us has an opportunity and an obligation to be a changemaker. I’ve kept that lesson in my heart, and it rings true today.

The truth is that seemingly small things can make a world of difference – and technology can bring people of goodwill together to scale up all this change. 

DonorsChoose is one of the best vehicles I’ve found for doing this. This platform allows anyone to see the funding needs at local schools and make small-dollar contributions to help solve them. It’s a simple, tangible way to create positive change in a community, one project at a time.

My colleagues at Vista Equity Partners and I recently partnered with PowerSchool to fulfill more than 1,800 teacher funding requests worth about $1.25 million through DonorsChoose. These requests came from schools that serve predominately Black students in and around Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Houston, Memphis, and New Orleans. We specifically set out to help lift up communities of color and chip away at systemic racial inequities by investing in school districts that have historically received less state and local funding than majority-white districts.

This has been a wonderful way of experiencing the power of modest things. We bought one teacher cleaning supplies for her classroom; another received a set of bookshelves so their students could finally have a real library. Small though they may seem, they help teachers feel supported. They help students feel seen and cared for.

Browse DonorsChoose and you’ll see that many projects only need a few hundred dollars to get off the ground, yet they have the potential to make a profound impact. Buying that lab equipment or those art supplies could legitimately change a young person’s life.

That’s the power of education. That’s what my parents – both educators – believed in. That’s what they taught me to believe in.

"The Talk teamed up with Nature Made® to discuss their #TeachHealthy campaign, dedicated to empowering teachers to do their best work while supporting their immune health. Nature Made is donating $4 million to provide wellness supplies for their classrooms in partnership with DonorsChoose and over 7 million servings of immune-support products to teachers. Plus, today they announced a surprise donation of more than $1 million to flash fund every DonorsChoose project for the LA Unified School District."
‍Watch the full story on cbs.com.

"Marcella Lopez didn't always want to be a teacher — but once she became one, she found her passion. That's why she's stayed in the profession for 23 years, spending the past 16 at her current school in Los Angeles, where she mostly teaches children of color. 'I wanted purpose, to give back, to live a life of public service, to light the spark in others to think critically and to be kind human beings,' she says. 'More importantly, I wanted my students to see themselves when they saw me, to believe they could do it too.'Ms. Lopez didn't encounter a teacher of color until college. 'That moment was life-changing for me,' she recalls. 'It was the first time I felt comfortable in my own skin as a student. Always remembering how I felt in that college class many years ago has kept me grounded year after year.'"
‍Read the full story on upworthy.com.

"As a kid, Jamel Holmes knew he wanted to be a teacher. He would spend rainy days giving spelling tests and playing math games with other children in his apartment building in New York's South Bronx.But throughout elementary school, Holmes never had a teacher who looked like him. It wasn't until seventh grade that he had his first Black male teacher—Mr. Emdin. In some ways, he was lucky. Nearly 80% of teachers in the U.S. are white, and many Americans go their entire educations without having even one non-white teacher.Teachers of color make a difference, which is why education nonprofit DonorsChoose has teamed up with The Allstate Foundation to support them. According to research from Johns Hopkins University and American University, having at least one Black teacher in grades three through five reduces the likelihood of Black students dropping out of high school by up to 39% and increases the likelihood that students from low-income households will aspire to attend college. An analysis published in Education Next also found that Black teachers tend to have higher expectations of Black students, which contributes to greater success."
‍Read the full story on upworthy.com.